


The Tri-Wizard Tournaments Most Difficult Task

by Suzilee11



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Both boys are 17 not 14, Coming Out, Confessions, Dancing, Feelings, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, Yule Ball, tri-wizard tournament
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2020-09-26 04:15:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20383513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzilee11/pseuds/Suzilee11
Summary: There were only a few weeks left till Christmas and therefore only a few weeks until Harry had to face the most difficult task of the tri-wizard tournament: The Yule Ball.In preperation for the ball, McGonagall and Snape were holding dance classes for all students 4th year and above. Unfortunately Harry and Draco forgot about the class until the last minute and therefore were the only 2 to show up without a partner.





	1. Dance Class

“Shit!” Harry yelled into the empty common room. He had been in the dormitory having a nap and was slightly confused as to why Gryffindor tower was empty. He was currently reading a notice on the notice board where a big note was stuck reminding the 4th year and above students about the compulsory Yule Ball dance class that was starting in 2 minutes. Harry ran to the portrait and started to sprint towards the Great Hall. Once he reached the top of the stairs to the entrance hall, he realized he wasn’t the only one running late, as Draco Malfoy was running up the stairs from the dungeon.

“Running a little late their Malfoy.” He asked as they as they both reached the great hall. 

“I was having a nap Potter.” He replied. Harry started laughing, causing Draco to start scowling. 

“Sorry, it’s just funny.” Harry stated. 

“What’s so funny about a nap?” Malfoy asked, now looking quite confused. 

“That’s the same reason I’m late.” 

“Oh, well we better get in there before we get into trouble with McGonagall.”  
When they entered the hall together, they saw McGonagall and Filch fiddling with an old Gramophone, while everyone else was talking. The two boys separated and walked over to their friends. “Where have you been?” Hermione asked when he reached her and Ron, in a disapproving voice. She hated it when he was late. 

“Sorry, I fell asleep and also forgot we even had this class. Hermione shook her head but had to drop the subject as it was at that moment that Professor McGonagall stepped up and called out for silence. When that silence had fallen, she started to talk. 

“As you all know the Yule Ball is only three weeks away. I am assuming that you are all in 4th year and above. If you are below the 4th year and have not been asked to the dance by an older student, leave now.” Unsurprisingly about half a dozen first year girls all quickly scarpered from the hall, giggling the entire way out. “Now, this dance is an important part of the Triwizard tournament, you will all be representing our school, and therefore I expect each and everyone of you to be on your best behavior. And yes, that includes you both Mr. and Mr. Weasley.” Everyone looked at Fred and George. 

“We aren’t going to do anything Professor. Are we Fred?” 

“Absolutely not George. We wouldn’t embarrass our school like that Professor.” 

“I’ll be making sure of that. As you were all told to, I am also assuming that you have all bought your date for the dance with you to practice with. I’m assuming you have, however I will still ask anyway, does anyone not have a partner?” 

Assuming he was the only idiot to forget about getting a date to the dance, Harry very slowly raised his hand in embarrassment, not noticing that the room had one more raised hand in it. 

“Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, anyone else. McGonagall asked. Harry whipped his head around to look at Malfoy, who was looking back at him. How did Draco not have a date? Harry thought. He was very attractive, which should have made it extremely easy for him to get someone to go to the dance with him.  
“Anyone at all?” No one raised their hand, so McGonagall nodded her head. “Okay, well you two will have to pair up together than, and I don’t want any arguing either. Now everyone pair up and we can get started.”

Everyone moved around the room, seeking out their dates, and turning towards McGonagall where they all awaited her instructions. Harry and Draco stood next to each other awkwardly. “We are going to start with a few basic steps. I arranged pervious to this class for Professor Snape to help demonstrate with me.” Snape moved to stand next to McGonagall, emerging from a corner of the room where no one had noticed him. “To start, the man must place one hand on the lady’s waist, whilst the lady will place her hand on the man’s shoulder.” As she said all this, McGonagall and Snape demonstrated so that all of the students could see what they meant. As McGonagall explained Harry and Draco just stared at each other. Which way did they do it? Who was meant to be the man and who was meant to be the lady between the two of them? “Potter? Malfoy? Is there a problem?” Snape asked, a sneer on his face as all the attention in the room was now on the two of them. 

“No sir,” Malfoy responded. “We’re just trying to decide which way around we do this.” 

“It doesn’t matter which way, just decide so we can move on to the next part.” McGonagall told them. 

As both professors moved around the room helping and adjusting students if they didn’t quite have it right, Harry and Draco tried to decide which way around they were going to position themselves. However, they stilled hadn’t sorted themselves out when Snape got around to them. 

“You still haven’t sorted it out?” His question sounded more like a statement, sighing in exasperation, Snape grabbed Malfoy’s hand and placed it on Harry’s waist, then taking Harry’s hand and putting it on Draco’s shoulder. “There! Sorted. Now grasp your other hands together. Snape walked away without another word, leaving Harry and Draco without a chance to feel embarrassed, as the music started almost immediately, and McGonagall and Snape started to demonstrate the first step while the students all followed.

  
 

By the time the 2-hour dance class ended, Harry’s face was quite red, and Draco’s pale skin was even brighter red. It had been a most embarrassing 2 hours, with most of the students looking and laughing at Harry and Draco dancing together extremely awkwardly at some point during the class. It was so bad that Harry himself didn’t want to return to the class the next week. But that wasn’t the worst of it. They had all been instructed before leaving that they were required to practice with their partner outside of the class as well, especially Harry as he was a tri-wizard competitor, and had to dance with the others in front of the entire school and the visitors from Durmstrang and Beaxbatons. Harry and Draco weren’t enemies, but they also weren’t friends, so they did tend to argue quite a bit when paired up in classes. Now they weren’t only paired up but had to dance together as a pair. Harry was pretty sure that they were about to start arguing a hell of a lot more as they tried to perfect ballroom style dancing over the next three weeks. Before Draco could run out of the Great Hall and back into the dungeons, Harry grabbed his arm to stop him leaving. Draco was quick to turn around and try and pull his arm out of Harry’s grip, but Harry wouldn’t let go. 

“What are you doing Potter? Let me go!”

“Not until we talk.” Harry said. 

“Talk about what?” Draco almost spat at him. 

“When we are going to meet and practice this dance. You heard McGonagall, we have to practice so we can be good, and I apparently have to be perfect which means you do to.” 

Draco sighs and yanks his arm hard, breaking Harry’s grip and allowing him to start walking away. “Just meet me on the 7th floor at 7 tomorrow night.” 

“The 7th floor is pretty big Malfoy. Want to be a bit more specific?” 

“Just wait near the tapestry of trolls learning ballet.” With that Draco ran from the great hall so fast you would think he was fleeing for his life. 

Harry stood, watching him leave for a moment before Ron and Hermione joined him. Together they all left the great hall and walked down to Hagrid’s hut. It was Saturday evening and they always went down to Hagrid’s for an hour before dinner. They were half an hour early today due to the time of the dance class, but they decided to go down anyway. It would give Harry a chance to talk to them all about how he was going to deal with Draco for the next 3 weeks. Hagrid was surprised to see who was there when he opened his door. He wasn’t expecting them for another half an hour and therefore didn’t have the tea ready upon arrival as usual. 

“Wat r you lot doin ‘ere early?” He asked as he let them in and started to prepare the tea. 

“We had the Yule Ball dance class and decided to come straight down when we finished.” Hermione explained. 

“R’ght, I forgot bout that.” He said. 

For the next hour and a half, the three of them discussed the tournament, their classes, the students from the other schools and most importantly Harry’s problem of now being paired with Draco Malfoy for the Yule Ball. As the three of them were walking up to the school, back towards the Great Hall for dinner, Harry was still complaining about Malfoy. 

“I mean, I can’t dance with another guy in front of the whole school! Everyone will make fun of me, they’ll think I’m gay.” Harry groaned. 

“Is it really so important what the rest of the school thinks?” Hermione asked. 

“Of course it does! I’m not just some kid that will be forgotten about a few days later. No one will forget, I’ll have to deal with it for at least the rest of the year. Great ammunition to give the Slytherins. I’ll never hear the end of it.” 

“That’s not what I meant Harry.” 

“What did you mean then?” 

“If its not true and just a rumor based on an unfortunate situation why do you care so much? You know the truth so who cares what other people say?” Hermione explained. 

Harry stayed silent for a minute, thinking about what she said. He thought it made sense in a way, but he still had to deal with the teasing. “I guess that makes sense. I just don’t want to deal with the teasing.” 

“Harry, you spent nearly a whole year with people thinking you were the heir of Slytherin petrifying students. You survived that and you can survive this.” Ron said, trying to reason with Harry. 

“Thanks Ron?” 

The rest of the night the Yule ball wasn’t mentioned. As it was a Saturday, Harry and Ron spent most of the night playing Chess and discussing what the next task in the tournament may be, as Harry still hadn’t quite figured out the egg’s clue yet. Hermione sat next to them reading a book and occasionally pointing out a possible chess move, or commenting on a tournament idea the boys had had. By the time it reached midnight, Harry, Ron and Hermione were the only three left in the Gryffindor common room, everyone else had gone to bed a couple hours ago. Packing up their things, the three of them decided to go to bed as well, saying goodnight before Hermione walked up to the girl’s dormitories and the boys walked up to theirs. As it was silent with the other three Gryffindor boys all asleep, Harry and Ron got into their pajama’s silently, said goodnight and got into bed. Ron fell asleep very quickly, Harry could tell by the snores, but he lay awake in bed worrying. If tomorrows practice with Malfoy went bad, then he would have to try and get someone else to be his partner. Eventually Harry fell into a uneasy sleep dreaming of the worry’s that had been in his head all night. 

  
 

It was roughly 6:45 and Harry was leaving Gryffindor Tower, making his way to the 7th floor. When he reached it, he was looking at every painting trying to find the one with the Trolls learning Ballet, but instead saw Malfoy first, waiting for him at the painting. “Just on time Potter.” He drawled, leaning against the wall with his hips jutting out. 

Harry shook his head to clear the image before he responded. “At least I’m here Malfoy. Now where are we practicing? Not in this corridor I hope.” 

“Of course not, do you think I want people to walk past and see us?” 

“Absolutely not.” 

“Exactly. Go stand over there for a moment.” Malfoy instructed. 

“Why?” Harry asked. Malfoy didn’t reply, just stared at him until he moved. “Fine.”

Harry stood and watched as Malfoy closed his eyes and walked back and forth three times in front of a blank wall. He was confused, wondering what the hell Malfoy was doing walking in front of a blank wall. What was that meant to… He stopped thinking as suddenly the wall started to change and a large door appeared. 

“What is this place?” He asked Malfoy. 

“A secret room that becomes whatever you want it to be.” Malfoy explained, looking proud about the fact that he had to explain what it was. 

“What do you mean becomes anything you want?” 

“Just get inside before someone sees us.” 

They walked into the room and Harry looked around in shock. It was a decent size room, not to large but not to small. In one corner there was an old fashion looking sound system, with a bookshelf full of records next to it. There must have been about a thousand records there. The walls looked as though they were covered with pictures of couples dancing. The center of the room was empty with a large square of wooden floor, it looked like a dance floor. Staring around in wonder, he had no idea that Malfoy had been talking to him until he felt an elbow in his ribs which broke the stare. “Ouch! What the hell was that for?” 

“Would you listen to me when I’m talking? I was saying that this room changes depending on the need of the person trying to enter. You walk back and forth in front of the wall three times thinking about what you want, and it will fulfill that need. So, I asked for a room to practice classical dancing.” 

“This is amazing Malfoy. How did you know about this room?” Harry asked. 

“Umm thanks. My father told me about it. He found it when he was here.” 

“Wow. Well I guess we better practice then.” 

“Okay, well lets just go onto the wooden floor and get started.” Malfoy walked onto the floor and pulled out his wand. Harry paused his own steps for a moment before he realized that Malfoy was pointing his wand at the shelf of records.  
“Accio” he said, and a record flew into Malfoy’s hands. He then walked over to the old record player and set it up. When the music started it was the same tune that was used during the dance class the day before. “I thought it would be easiest to use the same music for now until we are good at this.” He said, walking back towards Harry who was now standing in the center of the dance floor. When he reached Harry, he automatically placed his hand on Harry’s waist and held his other hand up ready for Harry to grab. Harry hesitated a moment, then placed one hand on Malfoys shoulder and then the other hand in his hand. They stood for a moment just looking at each other until Malfoy broke eye contact and looked down at his feet. “Ready?” He asked. Harry just nodded his response then started to move his feet in time to Malfoy. 

Even after only one lesson they were both moving quite well together, very synchronized, almost perfect. Harry was surprised with how gracefully Malfoy was leading the dance, it was like he had been doing this his entire life, which when Harry thought about it, he probably had. The Malfoy were basically the Wizarding World equivalent of Royalty, and therefore it was likely that he had been taught to dance when he was a kid and therefore already knew exactly what he was doing. Harry was not quite as good yet, but with the way Malfoy was moving he looked good anyway. It wasn’t until Malfoy surprisingly dipped Harry down that Harry realized he wasn’t even moving himself exactly. It was like Malfoy was the one moving him. They were looking straight into each other’s eyes as Malfoy dipped him, staring deep into each other. It was a surprising moment, but Malfoy broke eye contact again and pulled Harry back upright again before he could think about what the intensity might mean. At that moment the record finished playing and the music stopped, causing Malfoy to let go of Harry abruptly and walk over to the record player to restart it. Together they practiced in silence for roughly an hour, Malfoy refusing to look into Harry’s eyes the entire time, as they quite quickly got better and better every minute that passed. Well Harry got better, Malfoy was already perfect at it. When the hour was up, they left the room of requirement and walked in silence together until they reached the end of a corridor where they had to part ways to go to the right dormitory. They stood there awkwardly looking at each other for a minute before they spoke, this time Harry broke the silence. 

“When do you want to meet again?” He asked Malfoy. 

“Umm, well what about Wednesday? I have a free period after lunch.” 

“I have a free period then as well, so that works. Same place?” 

“Yes, that’s perfect. Well good night then.” Malfoy said, and almost ran away he moved so fast. 

Harry watched him for a moment as he fled towards the dungeons. “What the hell just happened?” He said out loud to himself before walking up a flight of stairs towards Gryffindor Tower. 

  
 

The next couple of days passed quickly. Harry barely ever even saw Malfoy around the castle, and when he did Malfoy’s face would suddenly tint red and Harry didn’t understand why. However, as they weren’t friends, he didn’t bother worrying about it or asking either. It was none of his business after all.  
Wednesday came around and halfway through lunch Harry decided to go up to the Room of Requirement early to play some records and maybe find something different to practice to today. When he arrived, he remembered what Malfoy had said on Sunday and did the same thing. When he opened his eyes, he expected to see a blank wall, thinking that Sunday night was a strange dream, instead he saw a large door the same as last time and hesitantly walked forward to see. The doors opened and the same room as last time appeared. So, did something else unexpected. Malfoy was already in there, browsing through the records on the shelf. He paused for a moment and watched, Malfoy hadn’t noticed he had entered the room yet. Moving carefully, Harry walked as quietly as possible until he was standing just behind Malfoy clearing his throat and laughing when Malfoy jumped, turning around as fast as lightning. 

“Shit!” Malfoy yelled. “Ohh, I didn’t no you were hear.” 

“I was coming in early to choose some different music for today.” Harry explained. 

“So was I. I was thinking about this one.” Malfoy said, holding up a record. Harry just nodded his approval, so Malfoy put the record on, and they walked to the dance floor and started to practice. 

This routine was how they practiced for the next 2 weeks. Every Saturday afternoon they had their dance class, then the practiced in the room of requirement every Sunday night for an hour, and every Wednesday in their free period after lunch. On the last Wednesday before Christmas, they completed their final practice. With one final turn Malfoy dipped Harry one last time before the ball, and just like the first time they stared into each other’s eyes as they did, and this time Harry felt something before they broke eye contact. He had no idea what it was, but it was unfamiliar and scary. As soon as he was on his feet again, he rushed to the door saying he had to go, and ran out of the room leaving Malfoy standing where he was looking at a closed door feeling very confused. What had he done? They had been starting to get along and could actually almost call each other a friend. Now he wasn’t so sure. 

When Harry reached Gryffindor tower to grab his things for his next period, he found Ron and Hermione sitting in the common room also grabbing their things for the next period. Hermione was looking at him with worry, and now he was concerned about what his faced looked like. 

“Harry? Are you okay? Where have you been?” 

“I’m fine, I had practice with Malfoy, remember?” 

“Right, sorry I forgot. Did something happen between the two of you, you look scared.” 

“What? Ohh uh, no I’m fine. Just worried about it being the last practice before the ball.” Harry tried to sound a bit calmer than he was, but he wasn’t so sure that he succeeded, considering that Hermione still had the same concerned expression on her face. 

“Are you sure?” Ron asked. 

“I’m positive. Come on, lets get to Charms.” 

The three of them headed towards Charms and didn’t mention anything about the dance practice again. 

That night both Harry and Malfoy found it hard to sleep. They were both thinking about what happened in the Room of Requirement earlier, wondering different things. Malfoy was wondering what had happened. He thought they had been getting on so well and were friends now, but he had no idea why Harry had run out like that, what had he done wrong? He must have done something to cause a strong reaction like that, he just didn’t know what. Whereas Harry was trying to work out what the feeling he had earlier had been. He was so confused. He had never felt it before, and it had happened as he was looking into Malfoy’s eyes. Had he been attracted to him? Was he maybe gay? If he was then the Yule ball was going to be even harder for him, dancing with Malfoy if he had feelings for him was going to been almost impossible. Unfortunately for them both, they still had to dance together, but maybe they could sort it out before the ball. If Harry could get up the guts to talk to him before then that was.


	2. Show Time

The Yule Ball was closer than ever, and Harry was completely freaking out. It was Christmas Eve and the Castle was a buzz with talk about the ball tomorrow night. It had been two days since Harry’s last dance practice with Malfoy and he had been avoiding him in the castle ever since that day, not wanting to have to talk about it. He had been freaking out so much that no one had seen him since breakfast in the Great Hall, he had been hiding in the Room of Requirement all day. By the time Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall and couldn’t see Harry anywhere, they went straight to the Slytherin table instead of Gryffindor to see Malfoy. 

Seeing them walking straight towards him, Malfoy looked up ready for them. “Weasley, Granger, to what do I owe this pleasure?” He asked politely. 

“Have you seen Harry today” Ron asked. 

“No, I haven’t. Why?”

“Ohh.” Hermione sighed. “No one seems to have seen him since breakfast. We were hoping that maybe you guys had been practicing.” 

“No, we haven’t. Sorry I don’t know where he is.” 

“Thanks Malfoy.” Hermione said, and she and Ron headed to the Gryffindor table to have dinner. 

Once they had gone, Malfoy got up and left the Great Hall. He had an idea as to where Harry might be, and he was going to find out. Walking up to the 7th floor, Malfoy tried to think what Harry may have thought of to get into the room. He had no way of getting in there if he didn’t know what Harry had asked for. It wasn’t until he reached the blank wall where the room is that he realized exactly what Harry would have said. Walking back and forwards in front of the wall, he thought what he wanted. When he opened his eyes the door was there. Walking into he room Malfoy saw the same room that they had been practicing in for three weeks, and Harry was sitting on the couch next to the record player, a stack of records on the floor next to him, and the last one they had danced to currently playing. 

“Potter?” Malfoy said, getting his attention and making Harry jump on the couch, looking up startled. 

“How did you know where I was?” Harry asked. 

“I just had a feeling.” Malfoy said. “What are you doing up here alone?” 

“Nothing much, just listening to some records, freaking about the dance. You know, nothing serious.” 

“Why are you freaking about the dance?” Malfoy asked as he sat down on the couch next to Harry. 

“I don’t want to mess up and I’m afraid I’m going to look stupid and let McGonagall down.” 

“You won’t mess up. I’ll be there leading you, so you’ll be fine.”

“How can you be sure though? What if I mess you up to and then we will both look stupid?” 

“Harry, you can do this, I know you can. You are actually a great dancer once you’ve had some practice.” 

“I don’t know Malfoy, maybe it’s best if I just don’t turn up.” 

“Do you want to practice more? We can do it now, or we can tomorrow after lunch.” 

“Do you mind? It would definitely make me feel better.” 

“Of course we can, meet me here after lunch tomorrow and we can practice for as long as you want.” 

“Thanks Malfoy.” 

Harry smiled at Malfoy and Malfoy tentatively smiled back. It felt slightly strange to him because Malfoy very rarely smiled. But he liked it. And Harry liked how it looked on him, so much that he started to feel that strange feeling from the other day again. 

“Umm, I’m just going to stay up here and listen to some more music for a bit.” Harry said, in a way that he hoped would make it clear to Malfoy he wanted to be alone. 

“Uhh right, okay. I’ll just leave you to it then. See you tomorrow after lunch.”

“Yeah, okay.” 

Malfoy got up and left, looking a little disappointed. It left Harry confused, why would Malfoy look that way after seeing him? They weren’t that close, although something inside Harry told him that he certainly wanted to at least be friends with Malfoy now. It was funny how just being paired together for a dance could change the dynamic between them, when being in the same situation for class work always broke out in a mini war between them instead. Harry stayed up in the Room of Requirement for the rest of the night, returning to the Gryffindor common room after everyone was in their dormitories sleeping. 

The next morning was the start of a dreaded day in Harry’s mind. It was Yule Ball day, and whilst he was sure that the rest of the school would be excited about the ball, he was not. Not wanting to face Ron and Hermione questions about yesterday, Harry left a note for Ron that he knew would be passed onto Hermione later, he then left the dormitory whilst everyone was still asleep. The note he left read:

Ron and Hermione.   
Don’t worry about me, I’m fine,  
I just want to be alone today.   
See you later,   
Harry 

Skipping breakfast in the great hall, Harry went to the kitchen to get some food from Dobby, and then headed up to the Room of Requirement to spend the morning alone pondering over some things that had happened lately and putting them together, while he ate breakfast and waited for lunch time to come around where he would then spend the afternoon dancing with Malfoy. When lunch time rolled around Harry was sleeping on the couch and was woken by Dobby, who had decided to bring him lunch. 

“Dobby thought Harry Potter would like some lunch.” 

“Thanks Dobby. This looks great.” 

“Dobby picked some food from the Christmas feast before we sent it up to the Great Hall for Harry Potter. Does Harry Potter like it?” Dobby asked. 

“It’s great Dobby, you didn’t have to bring this up.” 

“Dobby will do anything for Harry Potter, for Harry Potter freed Dobby.” 

Harry hadn’t realized that during his chat with Dobby, Malfoy had entered the room silently and was watching them converse. But hearing the way that Dobby seemed to love Harry was endearing and he decided to speak and make his presence known. 

“Hey Potter. Hi Dobby.” He said. 

“Malfoy, I didn’t think you would be here yet.” Harry said.

“Master Malfoy, Dobby is honored to see you sir!” Dobby cried. 

“It’s nice to see you too Dobby. Now I know why Father hates you so much.” Draco said, looking at Harry. 

“Your father hates me? That’s news to me.” Harry said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. 

“Well, maybe a little. He never told me though why Dobby suddenly disappeared. Now I know why. I do think I should point out though that I never treated him badly, I was always nice to him.” 

“Why tell me that? I never said you did.” 

“I know, but I also know what people think of people who have house elves. I actually used to talk to him when I had things I needed to say but didn’t want to tell my parents or friends. He is very good with advice sometimes, and keeping secrets.” 

“Ohh.” Was all Harry said, Malfoy was telling him things he never expected to hear from him. 

“Dobby must go now. He is needed in the kitchens. Would Harry Potter or Master Malfoy like Dobby to bring them anything?” 

“No thank you Dobby, I’m right with this.” Harry said.

“I’m fine as well Dobby.” Malfoy said. 

Dobby then scarpered out of the room without saying another word. Harry sat on the couch and Malfoy walked over to join him. Harry started to eat his lunch but found he had too much. He couldn’t eat it all. 

“Do you want any Malfoy?” He asked.

“No thanks, I already had lunch in the Great Hall.”

“Are you sure? Cause this is too much for me.” 

“I promise I’m fine.” 

“Okay, well I guess now I’m finished we should probably practice. I already have the record ready.” 

“Yeah, let’s go.” 

They started the record playing and then proceeded to start moving around he dance floor together. After about an hour, Malfoy could see that Harry was starting to make some mistakes due to his nerves. So he had an idea. Stopping there dance for a moment he conjured a blind fold and held it up for Harry to see. 

“What are you doing?” Harry asked, feeling scared now. What was Malfoy going to do to him?

“Calm down. I noticed you are starting to make mistakes due to you nerves. I thought it might be a good idea if you wear a blindfold.” Malfoy explained. 

“How will that help me?” 

“Just trust me.” Malfoy pleaded, looking at Harry earnestly. 

Suddenly feeling as though he would trust Malfoy with his life, Harry simply turned around and allowed Malfoy to tie the blindfold around his eyes. “Now what?” He asked. 

“Now we practice, and you just follow my lead. Don’t think, just follow. Then tonight at the ball you do the same thing and you will be fine. Okay?” 

“I’ll try.” Harry said. 

With Harry’s vision cut off, they started to practice again. Harry tried not to think but thoughts were still running through his head. Just not the steps of the dance, instead he was thinking about Malfoy. Before he realized what was happening, Malfoy stopped and took the blindfold off of Harry. It had been ten minutes since they started and Harry had danced perfectly simply by not thinking about the steps we was doing and just letting Malfoy lead him. 

“See Potter, you were perfect.” 

“I really did it didn’t I?” Harry stated, proud of himself. 

“You really did.” Malfoy said, also sounding proud. “Did you want to try it for a bit longer or just dance without it?” 

“Put the blindfold back on. I think it helps a lot better.” 

Without saying a word Harry turned around and Malfoy put the blindfold back on. They continued to practice like that for another two hours, Harry not making a single mistake and feeling a lot better by the time they finished. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to wear the blindfold later, and was worried that he wasn’t going to be to do it without it. Malfoy noticed the look on his face and correctly guessed the reason why. 

“You’re worried you won’t be able to do it later without the blindfold aren’t you?” He stated. 

“How could you tell?” Harry asked. 

“Your face was pretty obvious. Don’t worry about it. You can do it.” 

“I’m not so sure.” 

“I know you can. I believe in you.” Malfoy said, with a smile and wink before quickly leaving the room. As he slipped out the door, he said “See you later Potter.” 

Harry just stood their stunned for a bit before deciding to pack up the room a bit, re-shelving the records he had out and removing his plate from the room before he left it. Harry stood outside until the door had faded back into a wall and then walked towards Gryffindor Tower. On the way he noticed that no one was about anywhere in the castle before realizing that everyone was probably in their dormitory’s getting ready. When he checked his watch he realized that is was quite late and he should get a move on to make sure he gets ready in time. Speeding up, he ran the rest of the way, reaching Gryffindor Tower and panting the pass word to the portrait. When he reached the dormitory he found Ron, Dean, Seamus and Neville sitting in there, almost ready and therefore just talking.

“Harry! Where have you been?” Ron asked when he heard the door close and looked around to see who was there. “No one has seen you since breakfast yesterday” 

“I know, I’m sorry. I just needed to be alone for a while. Besides, I can need to get ready now.” Harry said, and the boys all resumed talking whilst Harry dug through his trunk to find his dress robes. Getting ready as quickly as possible, he was dressed just in time to leave the dormitory with the rest of them and walk down to the common room together. When they reached it, Harry spotted Hermione staring at the stairs and her expression changing to anger when she spotted Harry walking down. 

“Harry!” she almost yelled as she walked over to him, her dress for the ball shimmering in the firelight. “Where have you been?” She demanded. 

“I just needed time alone Hermione, I’m fine I promise.” 

“Well good for you then. We have been worried sick. No one has seen you since breakfast yesterday and you show up now and just say I’m fine?” 

“Hermione I really am sorry okay? I had some things to work out and I needed time alone to do that. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, and I’m sorry I worried you, but if your going to yell at me about it can we at least do that tomorrow? I already have enough to deal with tonight.” 

“Fine, but don’t think you will get out of it. You look really good by the way.” 

“So do you. Very beautiful. I have to go now though. McGonagall wants the champions and their partners down there first so she can give us instructions. See you in there.” With that Harry left the common room and headed down to the entrance hall. As though he was experiencing de ja Vue, when Harry reached the top of the stairs at the entrance hall, Malfoy was emerging from the dungeons, this time though it was in emasculate dress robes that showed off just about every muscle he had. Harry paused half-way down the stairs to watch him. He didn’t even realize he was starring until Malfoy went red, winked, and nodded his head towards McGonagall who was waiting on Harry and Malfoy. 

“Will you hurry up Mr. Potter? I only have a few minutes to give you all instructions.” 

Harry shook his head and started to walk again. When every champion and their partner were huddled around McGonagall in a group she started to explain how the rest of the school would enter the hall first, and then the champions would pair up and walk into the hall going to the front where a big space would be cleared for them to dance. They would dance for a least 5 minutes, then other students may join in and after a further 5 minutes they would be allowed to leave the dance floor if they wished. Harry was barely listening though, freaking out again as they were a mere minutes away from his humiliation. Once McGonagall had finished talking and other students started pouring into the entrance hall and being directed into the great hall by professor McGonagall, Malfoy grabbed Harry’s arm and pulled him to the side. 

“Are you okay? You look like you’re having a panic attack.”

“I think I am.” Harry replied. 

“Okay, umm I don’t really know what to do. Maybe try and calm down a bit.” Malfoy suggested. 

In that instant they heard Hermione’s voice from behind them. “Harry!? Harry, are you alright?”

She asked, panicked, not knowing what was wrong with him. 

“He’s having a panic attack. I don’t know what to do for that.” 

“Alright, Harry look at me. Now place your hands on my shoulders. That’s it, now just breath. Try and breath slowed and deeper.” Harry did everything she said, and a few minutes later when all the students except Hermione and Ron were in the great hall his breathing evened out again until it was at a normal pace. McGonagall came over at that moment and asked Ron and Hermione to go into the great hall and for Harry and Draco to stand at the back of the champions. When they lined up behind Cho and Cedric, Cedric turned around to talk to Harry for a second before they had to enter the hall. 

“Hi Harry.” 

“Hi Cedric. Hi Cho.” 

“I’ll be quick, you remember the little hint you gave me a few months ago?” 

“Yeah. Why?” 

“I’m returning the favor. Read this later.” He gave Harry a piece of paper and Harry slid it into his pocket as they stared to walk into the hall.


	3. A Late Night Revelation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is tiny, I'm sorry, but the next chapter will be a lot longer I promise. I am working on it at the moment and it should be out soon.

The minute they cleared the doorway all eyes were on them. Apparently, everyone had forgotten that they were paired for the Yule Ball. People were staring, pointing, and whispering to each other about it. Harry’s breathing started to escalate again, but Malfoy noticed and instantly placed a hand on his lower back, whispering in his ear. “Just breath Harry.” 

Harry noticed Ron and Hermione giving him encouragement, whilst the hand on his back had him feeling calmer. The closer to the front of the hall they got however, the harder Harry found it to breath. By the time they were all lined up in a circle, Harry thought he was going to pass out. Malfoy had a hand on his waist holding him up and had one last thing to say before the music started. 

“Harry, look up at me. Okay, now what did we do earlier?” He asked.

“Umm, we danced while I was blindfolded.” Harry responded. 

“Exactly. I can’t use a blindfold now but I want you to do something else for me.” 

“What?” 

“I know you’re panicking, so I want you to close your eyes, don’t think, and just follow my lead okay? Just like we did earlier.” 

Harry nodded his head and the music started to play. Closing his eyes, Harry cleared his thoughts and focused on the feel of Malfoy. The feel of Malfoy’s hand on his waist, his other hand in his, the way he moved. Carefully, he followed every step Malfoy made, moving flawlessly, and feeling like he and Malfoy were the only two people in the room. When ten minutes had passed and the champions were allowed to leave the dance floor, Malfoy led Harry into the crowd before telling him he could open his eyes. “You did it, Harry.” He said. 

Harry opened his eyes and found himself standing behind the crowd where some were on the dance floor the others watching. “I did it!” 

“Yes you did.”

“Thank you so much Malfoy.” Harry said, and without hesitating threw his arms around Malfoy’s neck and hugged him close, their bodies pressed tight together. After a second Harry realized what he was doing and quickly let go, blushing and stepping back and putting some distance back between them again. Malfoy was also blushing, something he looked like he was trying to hide, but Harry still noticed it anyway. As everyone was paying attention to the people dancing, and not looking at anything that was happening behind them, Harry and Malfoy decided to go sit at a table in the back corner of the Great Hall. Soon after, Ron and Hermione joined them there, Hermione not looking very happy. 

“What’s up with you?” Harry asked as they sat down. 

“Ron is useless, he kept stepping on my feet. My shoes are open toed. It hurts.” Hermione grumbled. 

“I said I was sorry Hermione, I tried my best but I just can’t dance.” Ron said. 

“Did you practice together?” Malfoy asked them. 

“Yes we did, but I just couldn’t get the hang of it properly.” 

“Don’t worry Ron, I’m the same. I only managed to do it tonight because of Malfoy.” Harry tried to calm his friend with his own dance problems.

“What do you mean?” Ron asked confused. “You did great out there.” 

“It was all Malfoy. We figured out that if I closed my eyes and didn’t think about what I had to do and just followed what Malfoy did, I could do it.” Harry explained. He looked at Malfoy and smiled at him, so grateful for his help, and Malfoy smiled back at him. They stared at each other for a minute until Hermione cleared her throat making them both quickly look away from each other. The four of them sat and spoke for a while until Hermione decided she wanted to get up and dance. Ron didn’t so she asked Malfoy if he would like to. As he was there as Harry’s date, Malfoy looked to him first to make sure it was okay, and at Harry’s nod of approval he left the table with Hermione to join the, much larger than earlier, group on the dance floor, disappearing into the crowd. With just Ron and Harry left at the table, the two started to talk about other things that had nothing to do with the dance such as classes and how Harry was going in figuring out the clue from the egg for the next challenge in the tournament. Suddenly, Ron changed the conversation however, and Harry was not expecting the turn in topic that occurred. 

“So, you and Malfoy seem to be getting very close.” He stated. 

“What?! What do you mean?” Harry asked in shock. 

“Well, you are here as each other’s date tonight, and you smile at him like you’ve always been friends, and we all know you haven’t. So, what’s going on?” 

“Nothing is going on. You know we are only here together because we were the only two idiots to forget all about getting a date. And he’s just helped me a lot with this dancing thing that’s all.” 

“Are you sure that’s all? I’m not judging mate, and I have no problem with it if you’re into a guy, but the way you look at him is like you really like him. In more than just a friend way.” 

Harry was stunned into silence for a moment, he had no idea what to say. He had never known Ron to be so observant before, usually Hermione was more likely to pick up on something different in a person. Apparently, Harry was the one that had been paying no attention lately and therefore hadn’t realsied how much attention Ron was paying to him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Harry answered with, and before Ron had a chance to say anything else to him Malfoy and Hermione started walking towards them, needing a break from dancing apparently. As they reached the table Malfoy smiled at Harry in a very fond way causing Harry to stutter out something about ‘needing to use the bathroom’ before he fled the table and walked quickly into the entrance hall. Once outside the great hall and suddenly in desperate need of air, he ran through the main doors and outside to the stone steps that led up into the castle. He finally had the answer he had been looking for the past few days. He didn’t know if he was definitely gay, or maybe just Bi, but he knew two things; He was definitely attracted to Malfoy, and he wanted him. Sitting on the stairs at the front of the castle, the cold winter air cleared his head a bit. Whilst sitting there, he started mumbling under his breath, “how did this happen?” “When did it happen” “I thought I was straight, how can I suddenly be gay?” 

“What?” He heard spoken behind him and jumped. Turning around he saw Malfoy standing there, looking at him with shocked, bulging eyes. 

“What do you mean what?” Harry asked “I didn’t say anything”   
“You’re gay?” 

“What? NO!” 

“You just said you were.” Malfoy said. 

“No I didn’t. I said I think I am.” Harry didn’t realize what he had just said for a second and then he did. “Shit! No I didn’t say that. That’s not what I meant. I mean I …….” 

Harry was cut off when he felt a pair of lips press against his, hard. Enjoying the feeling much more than he thought he would, Harry unintentionally pushed back for a second until Malfoy pulled back. 

“Does that help you?” Malfoy asked. 

“What do you mean?” Harry asked. 

“Did you like it?” 

“Wait! Are you gay?” Harry asked, instead of answering Malfoy’s question. He definitely wanted to avoid answering that. 

“Yes.” Malfoy stated, quietly, looking down and closing his eyes so he couldn’t see Harry’s reaction. 

Not having heard a response yet Malfoy looked up and Harry was gone.


	4. Boxing Day Confessions

Harry was now more confused as ever yet somehow also more sure than ever that he was gay. As he ran through the castle to the Gryffindor common room all he could think about was the feel of Malfoy’s lips on his. Yes. Yes, he had liked it. But he didn’t think he was ready to deal with it. When he reached Gryffindor tower, he practically shouted the password to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get inside fast. He was worried that Malfoy might have followed him, and he didn’t want to have to talk about what just happened right now. Once inside he felt comforted and slowed to a walk as he made his way into the 4th year boy’s dorm and got into bed. Harry lay in silence in bed just thinking for hours. Eventually the rest of the 4th year boys returned to the dorm as well, Ron calling Harry’s name to see if he was awake, but Harry pretended to be asleep, and soon the dorm was full of the snores that told him everyone was asleep. He didn’t sleep all night. At around 5 in the morning he got up and got changed, putting his invisibility cloak on just in case anyone was already up, and crept out of the dorm and into the common room. Hermione was sitting in a chair by the fire, asleep with a book on her lap. He guessed she must have been waiting there to make sure she could definitely catch him when so she could talk to him. Luckily, she was asleep though as she didn’t see the portrait open as he left. Deciding to get an early breakfast, Harry went into the kitchens to see if the house elves were there. They were, and Dobby was very happy to give Harry a large plate with plenty of food on it. Harry thanked him and decided to eat his breakfast outside, near the lake. It was cold so he got a blanket from Dobby as well to take out and keep him warm.   
Sitting by the lake Harry slowly ate his breakfast, leaning up against a large oak tree with a trunk so thick that he was hidden from the view of the castle, and no one would be able to see him. He saw the water in the lake ripple and figured the giant squid must be taking an early morning swim and was therefore surprised when a head popped up out of the water. Not wanting to be seen, he threw the cloak back over himself and watched as the person slowly made their way out of the lake and he recognized who it was as they reached the edge of the lake. Cedric Diggory. What was he doing swimming in the lake at 6:00 in the morning? He would get hypothermia in this weather being in there. As Harry was covered by the cloak Cedric didn’t notice him and just walked back to the castle after putting on shoes and wrapping himself in a towel. Harry hoped he was going to the prefect’s bathroom to shower and warm up, suddenly remembering that Cedric had given him a note the night before. He also remembered that he was in the same pants that he had worn last night so he removed the piece of paper from his pocket and read what Cedric had written. 

Harry,   
The Prefect’s bathroom is a good place to have a bath,   
Take your egg and mull things over in the hot water.   
Thanks for the tip about the dragons,   
Cedric. 

What the Hell? Was Harry’s first thought. What did the Prefects bathroom have to do with it? Shoving the note into his pocket Harry decided to ignore the advice. Cedric was clearly messing with him to make sure that Harry didn’t figure out the clue so that he could beat him in the task. The note quickly left his mind however, as his thoughts drifted back to what had happened the previous night with Malfoy. Malfoy had actually kissed him. Why though? Why would he do that? So what if Harry was trying to figure out his sexuality? That didn’t explain why Malfoy had kissed him. Unless… A thought suddenly occurred to Harry, maybe Malfoy liked him. Is that even possible? He did admit last night that he was gay, but that didn’t mean that he liked Harry, maybe he was just trying to be a friend, they had been getting closer over the last few weeks, so he could have just been being nice. Suddenly desperate to get an answer, Harry covered himself with the cloak again and set off back into the castle. He didn’t necessarily need the cloak anymore as he was searching now instead of hiding, but he still wore it anyway. Harry’s first thought was to try the Slytherin common room, so he pretty much ran down the stairs towards the dungeons and along the corridors until he reached the blank space of wall that was the entrance to the Slytherin common room. It took him a moment to realize though that he didn’t know the password, so he moved a small distance down the corridor from the entrance and waited to see if Malfoy would emerge. After about an hour of waiting, he thought that maybe Malfoy wasn’t even in there, perhaps he had decided to go to the library and get some homework done before classes started again. So, Harry went in search of a blonde head hunched over books at a table somewhere, but after scouring the entire library and finding him nowhere, he left and stood outside the library instead, trying to think where else he might be. The Great Hall was a possibility, he could be having a late breakfast. However, he wasn’t in the Great Hall either. Giving up for now Harry thought me might just head up to Gryffindor Tower and try and get some sleep, as he had gotten none the night before, when a flash of blonde hair caught his eye. Quickly checking around the corner the blonde figure had just gone, he recognized Malfoy walking briskly. Deciding to just follow him for now Harry watched where we was going, not walking to close behind him incase Malfoy had a suspicion someone was there. He also didn’t want to talk to him where anyone could hear what they were saying, as far as Harry knew, Malfoy was not open about being gay and Harry didn’t want to advertise that part of him to the whole school be accident. Eventually they reached the seventh floor and Harry figured out where Malfoy was going and watched as he opened the room of requirement and went inside. He looked different though to Harry, a lot different to what he had the last few weeks. Frankly, Malfoy looked miserable, and for some reason Harry wanted to know exactly why. He was very nervous about talking to Malfoy though, so he ended up passing in the corridor trying to calm his nerves for about half an hour before attempting to enter the room of requirement. The only thing he think of to want was the same room that he and Malfoy had been using to practice and felt more nervous than ever, but also a slight sense of relief when the door appeared. Harry entered as quietly as he possibly could, still covered by the invisibility cloak and stood beside the door as it closed silently behind him. He just watched Malfoy for a few minutes, just to see what he was up to all alone in here. He recognized the music playing after a minute, it was the same music that they had spent most of Christmas Day dancing to. Harry wasn’t sure if it meant something or if it was just a coincidence. He continued to watch Malfoy, sitting on the couch with his eyes closed, head tilted back to rest his head, the long expanse of his pale neck on full display. Harry shook his head after realizing that he was staring at Malfoy’s neck and slipped the invisibility cloak off so that he could talk to him. Walking closer to the couch, Harry sat down carefully next to Malfoy, hoping not to jostle and scare him. He was unfortunately unsuccessful in that endeavor though, as Malfoy sat bolt upright the second Harry sat down and looked around scared, trying to figure out who was there.   
“Harry?” He asked curiously when his eyes landed on Harry’s figure sitting next to him. “What are you doing here?”   
“I umm, well I, I’ve been looking for you.” Harry explained.   
“Why?” Malfoy asked.  
“What do you mean why?” Harry was confused.   
“Well, you took off last night without saying anything and suddenly you’re looking for me.”   
“I, I’m sorry about that. I was just shocked and needed some time to think about..” Harry’s sentence was interrupted by a large yawn. When he looked at Malfoy he found a small smile on his lips.   
“Bit tired are we?” Malfoy teased, something about watching Harry yawn was cute to Malfoy, causing him to feel a bit better than he had earlier, even with and incomplete explanation.   
“I didn’t get any sleep last night.”   
“What? None at all?”   
“No.”

Suddenly a bed appeared in the room in the back corner. The room also looked slightly bigger, as though it had grown to accommodate the bed. Harry looked completely shocked. “What?” Was all he could muster. Malfoy actually laughed this time.   
“What’s the matter?” He asked Harry.  
“Where did that bed come from?”   
“I asked the room to add it. You can request things to be changed or added once in the room if you want them. So I asked for a bed. You need to get some sleep.”   
“I’m fine.”  
“No you’re not. Go get some sleep and we can talk when you wake up.”   
Suddenly too tired to even care about arguing Harry just nodded his head in agreement and walked over to the bed, taking his shoes off and crawling into the extremely warm sheets. It was so comfortable that he fell asleep almost immediately, whilst Malfoy sat on the couch listening to music quietly and reading a book. He finished the book just as Harry started to wake up roughly 5 hours later. It was now late afternoon, almost evening, but Harry felt more rested than he had felt in the last few weeks. He had even forgotten where he was until he heard Malfoy’s voice from across the room.   
“Feeling better?” He asked, slowly walking over to where Harry was starting to sit up in the bed.   
“Honestly, I haven’t felt this good in weeks.” Harry said, suddenly feeling self-conscious under Malfoy gaze. “I really am sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have just run off without answering you, it wasn’t fair to you, and I’ve been thinking about it all night and I…” Harry was once again cut off id sentence by a pair of lips covering his own. This time though it wasn’t such a shock for him, and he wasn’t freaked out by what he felt in reaction to it. Instead he kissed Malfoy back hard, grabbing his waist and pulling him onto the bed so that he was straddling Harry’s lap. Malfoy hooked his arms together around Harry’s neck whilst Harry moved his hands down until he was gripping Malfoy’s ass. Malfoys groaned loudly into Harry’s mouth, but surprised Harry by breaking away from the kiss and leaning back.   
“What’s wrong?” Harry asked, worried he had done something wrong.   
“Nothing’s wrong, I just, I just want to make sure you are definitely okay with this.” Malfoy looked worried, as though he thought that Harry was just giving him what he wanted without actually wanting it himself. He was looking down, so Harry placed a hand on his chin and gently lifted his face till their eyes met.  
“Draco, I have been thinking about this all night, and I promise you if I didn’t want you, I wouldn’t have spent the morning looking for you. I want you, I really do.”   
Malfoy blushed, and the colour looked extremely appealing to Harry.   
“Just cause you want me doesn’t mean you’re ready to be with me. You only just figured out you’re into guys. Are you sure you don’t need some time first?”   
“No, I don’t need time. I want you, and I want you now. Please Draco?” Due to their close proximity Harry could tell that when he called Malfoy Draco, his heart rate got faster, he liked it, and Harry was going to make sure he used that to his advantage from now on. Malfoy’s pupils were now fully dilated with unhidden lust, and Harry decided to tease him a little bit by squeezing his ass, where his hands had been through their entire conversation, managing to slide him further up his legs as he did so. Now their groins were pressed directly together, and Malfoy could no longer contain himself. His lips met Harry’s again at the same time he rolled his hips down into Harry’s. Harry groaned loudly this time, he hadn’t been expecting it to feel so good.   
Before either of them had a chance to think about what was happening, Malfoy was suddenly lying on his back on the bed, whilst Harry was on top of him, straddling his waist, their hips rolling together constantly as their kissed deeply, all the built up emotion and desire from their dance practices finally being released. Harry wanted to do more than just make out and grind, but it felt so good he didn’t want to stop, and therefore when they both came in their pants, it was with a sudden burst of feelings, uncontrollable and amazing. Harry basically flopped on top of Malfoy, pushing him further and deeper into the bed as they both continued to breathe hard for a few minutes as they slowly managed to decrease their heart rates. Without realizing it, they both drifted off to sleep, Harry sliding to the side and resting his head on Malfoy’s chest as a pillow. That was where they stayed for the rest of the weekend. No one knew where they were and all they’re friends were worried about them, but they were happy. Harry was exploring his sexuality and having a lot of fun doing so. When they finally emerged on Monday morning to get ready in their dorms for there classes, they were both happy and didn’t care who knew they were a couple now. Something they made sure to show when they kissed in front of the school before leaving the Great Hall after breakfast to attend different classes.


End file.
